


Headmistress

by zephsomething



Series: Surviving the War [71]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephsomething/pseuds/zephsomething
Summary: Hermione, with a little push from Ron, decides it might be time for a career switch.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Series: Surviving the War [71]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/813804
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Headmistress

**Author's Note:**

> I do really recommend y’all read the rest of the series for context, especially for this one but really for any of them, they’re really meant to be read with the context of the ones before.
> 
> Sorry for the delay between the last and this one! Thanks to all of you for your patience! I've gotten suddenly swamped by life and also working on my original novels!

“I can’t just quit!” Hermione threw up her hands as she paced around their living room. It was an argument that had come up quite a few times this year. The third year of Grimmauld Place was coming to a close and it was becoming rapidly more clear that it really needed a full time head of the school, not just Hermione and Harry swapping off who was popping in that week.

“Why not?” Ron raised an eyebrow. “The school needs a solid head on it’s shoulders, I can’t think of anyone better.”

“I’m trying to change things, Luna’s centaurs-that-don’t-exist still need protections put on their lands, and there’s a dozen bills to try and get passed and a dozen more to send in just to make the others seem less unreasonable, and-”

“And someone else can do that.” Ron raised his hands spreading them slightly in a gesture that was half placating and half pleading. “You hired a good team, a team that cares, that division is full of people who want to change things.”

“I can change things in the ministry.” She could feel the argument slipping away from her.

“You can change things as headmistress too.” Ron shrugged. “Plus those kids need you more than your department does. Not to mention, do you really want Harry to be the one in charge of Grimmauld?”

“Oh god no, he’d make the office such a mess.” She sighed and dropped down on the couch beside him. “Maybe I should put in my notice. Lana would be a good candidate for my replacement, she’d got a good eye for hills worth dying on.”

“You should ask her if she’d be up to it.”

Hermione made a noise of agreement as she picked up a book and leaned against him. He teased his fingers through her coily hair, helping her relax. At least it did until Hugo woke up and the baby monitor started whining.

“It’s my turn, you enjoy your book.” Ron dropped a kiss on her forehead as he extracted himself from her and the couch.

The summer passed in a blur of training Lana and wrapping up anything that needed her specifically. In what seemed like no time at all and also far longer than a few months Hermione was standing in the entrance of Grimmauld Place on September 1st. She had Hugo in a sling, Rose on her hip and a wide grin on her face. There were only a handful of new students this year, four squibs and two werewolves. Every one of them was eleven years old. Which was nearly the same as last year. It was starting to look like any potential students over eleven either already went to Grimmauld Place or weren’t willing to join school so late.

Hermione greeted the students as they arrived directing the returning students to their dorms and the new students towards whichever house elf or teacher was waiting to show them to their new dorms. Those students, or parents, who required extra reassurance she pulled aside to speak to in the sitting area adjacent to the entryway.

It was during one such conversation when Charlene, Clarissa, and Drake came over to investigate. The student whose parent Hermione was assuring was a small wiry girl named Rayne, both her parents were werewolves and she’d been born one as well. The girl herself seemed excited, her parents on the other hand were extremely nervous.

“I assure you we are well equipped to handle our students needs.” Hermione said, not for the first time, and shifted Rose to her other hip. “Our potions Professor, Breanne Sherman, makes the doses of wolfbane potion every month. Her wife, who is our caretaker, is also a werewolf so she has lots of practice. Professor Sherman is even teaching a couple of our older students how to brew the potion themselves, the ones who will be graduating soon.”

“That’s the hope anyway, graduating this year.” Clarissa stepped up beside Hermione, making the parents jump. Hermione had stopped being surprised at how quietly the big girl moved by halfway through her first year. These days the girl was really nearly a woman now, seeing as she was 19, taller and wider than Hermione, and now in her fourth, and hopefully last, year of schooling. Despite all that Clarissa still moved near silently unless she was trying to be heard. “Me and ‘Lene are hoping to open a spa of sorts, specifically for weres like us, that they can come to on full moons to stay until sunup.”

“Cool.” Rayne pulled her arm from her mum’s grip to take a couple steps closer to Clarissa. “Would kids be able to come?”

“During the summer for sure.” Charlene appeared beside Clarissa, despite being a year younger she carried herself with just as much, if not possibly more, confidence than Clarissa. Her skin was even darker after a summer spent outside, bringing it from her winter brown to nearly entirely black. Between her dark skin and her slight build she was a perfect foil for Clarissa’ copper hair and pale skin. She waved her hands in a gesture that encompassed everything around her. “During the school year most kids like us should be here.”

Hermione turned slightly while Charlene and Clarissa talked to Rayne so she could see Drake in his usual place, right behind the girls. Unlike the girls, Drake still had the gangly unfinished look common to teens, as though he wasn’t certain where his limbs were at any given time. At just barely fifteen years old he wasn’t in as much of a rush as the girls to be finished with school. It probably helped that he enjoyed it more than they did.

“Headmistress?” The laughter in Clarissa’s tone snapped Hermione out of her thoughts. “Do you want us to take Rose while you talk to the rest of the parents?”

“We can watch her and show little Rayne here the dorms.” Charlene grinned at her. The smile showed off the small gap in her teeth and made her look so much younger than 18 for a moment. “We’ll get her to dinner in one piece.”

“Promise.” Drake’s grin joined hers and Hermione chuckled.

“Go! Go!” Rose piped up for the first time since people had started arriving, her little arms reaching out towards Clarissa.

“Alright, off you go.” Hermione handed her over with a smile. “Make sure you all make it to dinner when the dinner bell rings. We’re still trying to get some meat on your bones.”

“Don’t worry about that, Charlene is good at sharing.” Clarissa’s grin turned just a little sly and Charlene sputtered.

“Off you go, don’t forget to bring Rayne’s things to her room, she’s in with Lara who hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Ha, we totally outnumber the boys now. Don’t we little Rose?” Clarissa managed to grin at both Rose and Rayne as they walked off. Charlene lifted Rayne’s trunk and followed them, her face still red.

“Kids, they have far more energy than I do.” Hermione turned back to the parents with a smile. “Sorry about that, I swear those three just know when a new werewolf student arrives. They like to look after the younger ones I think.”

“They seem happy.” Rayne’s mum looked almost wistful as she watched the kids disappear up the stairs. She put her now empty hands on her husband’s arm. “I think she’ll be alright.”

“I think she will too.” Rayne’s father looked much calmer than he had when they came in. “Especially with good kids like those looking out for her.”

“Our students are wonderful.” Hermione agreed. “We’ve tried to foster a real sense of community in these kids, and they all really do look out for each other.”

Rayne’s parents left after the usual farewell pleasantries had been observed and just in time for Pamela and her father to arrive. Hermione caught the collar of one of the boys who’d started the year before as he made as though to run towards Pamela. She could tell without looking that Pamela and her father had been fighting on the way over, Pamela’s veela side was in overdrive. She turned the boy around and put his trunk into his arms. He only stumbled for a moment before Zaree collected both him and his trunk. Hermione was already walking towards Pamela and her father.

“Pamela, I’m so glad you could join us for another year.” She walked towards the fourteen year old and her father with a smile. “I trust the trip over was uneventful.”

“As uneventful as it could be.” Pamela sent another glare at her father before looking up at Hermione. As soon as she wasn’t looking at her father Pamela seemed to remember herself and took a deep breath. After the third deep breath Hermione could feel the air around the girl change. She smiled apologetically. “Sorry Professor, or actually it's Headmistress now isn’t it?”

“That’s quite alright Pamela, the important part is that you’ve remembered yourself.” She reached out to take the girl’s trunk and was surprised as the small girl stepped in and hugged her. Pamela was nearly a head taller than she’d been at the beginning of the summer which put her at the perfect height to tuck her head under Hermione’s chin. As Hermione’s arms dropped around her she could feel Pamela start to relax. “You’ve got about twenty minutes until dinner if you need a chance to clean up.”

“That’s alright, thank you.” Pamela stepped back. “If Mimi doesn’t mind taking my trunk up to my dorm I’ll probably just go into the kitchen and get a cup of tea.”

“You’re always welcome in the kitchens, our staff adore you.” Hermione smiled at her.

“That’s good, as I adore them as well.” She grinned back and walked off towards the kitchen without looking back at her father.

“Well, I suppose I’ll just be off.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, looking undecided for a moment. Then he seemed to come to a decision and he met Hermione’s eyes. “Did you know my daughter hasn’t so much as touched me, let alone hugged me, in almost two years? Yet every time she sees one of the staff from this place she nearly launches herself at them.”

“I’m glad she feels comfortable with our staff.” Hermione gave him what she hoped was a sympathetic smile. “We try our best to help all our students feel at home here.”

He made a noise that could have meant anything before turning and leaving without another word. Hermione couldn’t bring herself to feel bad about that. Of all the parents he was the one she’d always had the hardest time communicating with.

The rest of the students arrived nearly all at the same time. It was a buzz of activity in the entryway and sitting room that lasted nearly ten minutes. Soon there was only one student Hermione was waiting on and even the house elves had cleared out of the entryway.

The last student to arrive was a small girl with pale brown eyes and wispy brown hair. Walking her in was none other than Argus Filch. Hermione tried to hide her surprise. In all her years at Hogwarts it hadn’t occurred to her that Filch had any family. The thought didn't sit well with her once she'd had it. 

“Welcome to Grimmauld Place.” She smiled as she walked over to them. “You’re looking well Mr Filch.”

“This is Sally.” He gestured to the girl who was grinning as she looked around. “She’s my niece.”

“I’m so excited!” Sally grinned when she saw Hermione looking at her. “Every other squib I know has been talking about Grimmauld Place since it opened. Becca Miller, she’s a year older than me but her mum and my mum are friends, she started last year and she just raved about it. History of Magic is her favourite. Did I mention I’m excited? I’m excited.”

“Sally!” Hermione was saved from coming up with an answer as Becca herself came streaking down the hallway. Her red hair streaming out behind her and the biggest crooked tooth grin on her freckled face. “I’m so glad you’re here! Zaree says you can be my dorm mate! We had an odd number of girls last year so I spent the whole year in my own room!”

The two girls ran off with Sally’s luggage chattering away about classes and quidditch. Hermione smiled after them, filled with memories of being eleven and reading Hogwarts; A History over and over until she’d memorized it.

“It’s a good thing you’re doing here, Hermione.” Filch said quietly, still standing in the doorway. “Giving kids like her a place to learn, a place to get as much of their history and culture as they can.”

“They deserve to learn as much as anyone else.” She turned back to him with a smile. “It’s hard enough being different...”

“That it is.” He nodded a soft, almost wistful, look on his face as he looked in the direction the girls had run off in. “That it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to all my kudosers, readers, and commenters! I hope y'all are enjoying reading these as much as I'm enjoying writing them!


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